Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Half foot of snow in near forecast

IRONWOOD — The gradual snowmelt on the Gogebic Range may be interrupted by heavy snow tonight and Saturday.

The National Weather Service is predicting an 80 percent chance of wet, heavy snow, possibly mixed with rain, from tonight through Saturday evening.

Accumulations of around 6 inches are forecast in a swath from Ironwood to Ontonagon.

Hazardous driving conditions may result, as roadways will become extremely slippery.

Temperatures between 28 and 39 degrees are predicted during the period of precipitation.

There’s also a 70 percent chance of snow for Wednesday, after highs in the mid-40s are expected on Monday and Tuesday.

The sun was reducing the snow on the ground Thursday afternoon in Ironwood, with a 42-degree reading at 4 p.m. The hotspot on the Gogebic Range at that time was Pine Lake, in Iron County, at 48.

There was still 15 inches of snow on the ground at Ironwood’s official weather station at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater treatment plant on Cloverland Drive, however.

Most of the ice had blown out from near shore at Saxon Harbor, where it was 44. That brought an end to a late season ice fishing bonanza at the harbor, although there were still mounds of shelf ice packed against the shoreline.

The harbor marina was still iced over on Thursday, however, prohibiting boats from getting out on Lake Superior.